Barry Schwartz’s homebred Awesome Czech lands first stakes victory in Suzie O’Cain Wednesday at Saratoga. Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo.
By Alec DiConza
Trainer Horacio De Paz had four chances to win Wednesday’s $1250,000 Suzie O’Cain Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, a quartet led by 5-2 morning-line favorite Awesome Czech.
The Mendelssohn filly wound up going off as the third choice at 7-2 behind Summer Whirl and Brocknardini, but looked like an odds-on favorite as she bounded home a 2 3/4-length winner under Manny Franco. The win marked Awesome Czech’s second victory at Saratoga this summer after winning a July 21 allowance for New York-breds.
“She’s just been training so good,” De Paz said after the Suzie O’Cain. “(Franco) breezed her last week and she’s been doing really well. She’s kind of in the routine now. She’s in the zone.”
Sitting fourth early in the strung out field of eight, Awesome Czech benefited from reasonable early fractions of :23.51 and :47.75 set by stablemate Red Burgundy. Around the far turn, Awesome Czech picked up the tempo and swung wide coming into the stretch, with some work to do to catch Red Burgundy. With a quick burst, Awesome Czech swept to the front just outside the sixteenth pole and finished well ahead of runner-up Brocknardini and Munny Grab, also trained by De Paz. Summer Whirl got up for fourth, a neck ahead of Red Burgundy. De Paz’s other horse, Downtown Channel, was seventh.
The final time of the 1 1/16-mile inner turf stakes for 3-year-old New York-bred fillies was 1:42.94.
“I had a good set up in front of me,” Franco said. “They went fast and I was comfortable with where I was. As soon as I asked her to go, she was there, so it was just a matter of time. She has a great turn of foot turning for home. She always tries for me. I have won three times on her now. I love her.”
Owned and bred by Barry Schwartz, Awesome Czech broke her maiden in her third start and her turf debut last year at Aqueduct. After that, she finished fifth in the Chelsey Flower and second in the Tepin, both open-company stakes. She came in fourth in her sophomore debut in the Wild Applause, again in open company, before her summer at Saratoga began. After the impressive win, she may return to open-company stakes races, perhaps going even more distance.
“That open company race in the Tepin last year, that kind of impressed me that she fits open company,” De Paz said. “So hopefully we can get her back into some open-company stakes down the road.
“I asked Manny if she wants to go more distance because it looked like she galloped out very well. Something to play around with later on, possibly.”
Bred by Schwartz’s Stonewall Farm, Awesome Czech is the first foal out of the two-time winning Marvelous Martina, an 8-year-old mare by Awesome Again. Schwartz purchased Marvelous Martina carrying Awesome Czech in utero for $25,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November breeding stock sale
Marvelous Martina is also the dam of the unraced 2-year-old New York-bred Central Banker filly Rare Society and a colt by New York-based sire Honest Mischief born February 4.
